Parents sue New Jersey fertility clinic after daughter is born a different race than them

A white New Jersey couple is suing a local fertility clinic after their daughter was born of Asian descent.

Kristina Koedderich and her now-ex-husband Drew Wasilewski struggled to get pregnant with their second child and, in 2012, the pair turned to the Institute for Reproductive Medicine and Science at St. Barnabas for in vitro fertilization, the New York Post reports.

With the hospital’s assistance, Koedderichv was able to conceive through sperm she thought was her husband’s and she gave birth to a daughter the next year. However, when the child was about 2 years old, both her parents realized she had Asian features.

The couple sought out DNA testing in 2015, which, according a lawsuit filed against the clinic, revealed there was “0% probability” that Wasilewski fathered the child, who is now 6. The stress of the situation is what eventually led the couple to divorce, they claim.

Koedderich and Wasilewski are now seeking unspecified monetary damages from the clinic, as well as information on their daughter’s biological father, as the girl suffers from a genetic disorder neither plaintiff carries.

The family’s attorney, David Mazie, also says the pair remains concerned that Wasilewski’s sperm might have been used to inseminate the wrong patient.

“The problem we have here, what happened to Drew’s sperm?” Mazie told CBS News. “It was supposed to be inseminated that day. So if it didn’t go into Kristina, is it someone else who he fathered? ”

“Unfortunately, there’s no perfect outcome, because you can never go back in time,” he added. “The best outcome is that this clinic and other clinics follow suit and change their procedures and make sure this never, ever happens to another couple.”

In a statement, Institute for Reproductive Medicine and Science spokesman Ronn Torossian said the clinic is “thoroughly examining the alleged incident,” adding that the “integrity of our treatment processes are paramount.”

Despite their divorce and subsequent legal proceedings, both Koedderich and Wasilewski say they still love their daughter.

“They love her very much, but it’s a very sensitive and very stressful situation for them,” their lawyer told the New York Post.

In July, a California fertility clinic landed in hot water after it mistakenly implanted a couple’s embryo into a stranger who lives on the other side of the country.